Janet Jobson (2009 - 2010)
South Africa
As the Chairperson of the International Youth Steering Group for the CIVICUS Youth Assembly 2008, Janet helped to launch the First Step campaign, which collects the stories of young and older activists from across the world to stitch together a tapestry of the ways in which people take action to secure social justice.
Janet was born in Pretoria, South Africa, to parents who worked in human rights and health education. As a teenager, largely through the influence of her parents’ work, Janet became aware of and involved in civil society campaigns for the rights of women and girls, initially through her school’s Amnesty International group. Later, her work with the South African Girl Child Alliance led to her inclusion in South African delegations to meetings such as the UN Beijing+5 Review (2000) and the United Nations Special Session on Children (2002) as well as leading the South African youth delegation to the launch of the Girls Education Movement in Africa (2001).
Outside of social activism Janet enjoys and has excelled at debating - both as a competitive speaker, and as a coach to school students. As Chairperson of her university debating society in South Africa, Janet organized the 2005 National Schools Debating Championship, bringing together 200 young debaters from across South Africa’s racial and socio-economic divides. Janet believes firmly in the power of the spoken word to transform and inspire change. One of the major influences in her life has been the way in which theatre can have a unique impact through its personalization of more abstract issues, and the shared nature of the theatrical experience, which can open up spaces for dialogue around difficult social issues. Janet worked with members of the Khulumani Support Group for survivors of Apartheid-related gross human rights violations to author two plays – Mamelodi: The Forgotten and The Bones are Still Calling. Directing The Vagina Monologues and authoring the plays with the Khulumani Support Group, has enabled Janet to combine her passion for theatre and social justice.
Throughout her work with young and older people, in the developed and developing worlds, and across the spectrum of ‘victims’, ‘survivors’, and changemakers, she has been continually humbled, guided, and inspired by the sheer power, tenacity and tenderness of human beings.
Prior to coming to Montreal, Janet completed her MPhil in Development Studies at the University of Oxford. Her thesis examined the mechanisms of including young people in global civil society. As a Sauvé Scholar, she hopes to craft an easily adapted and produced play that captures the “First Step” stories of changemakers from across the world, alongside a workshop manual on the critical social issues that are brought up in these stories, which can be used by networks of young activists when attempting to bring other young people into social activism. She also wants to spend this time working on the establishment of intergenerational dialogues around shaping critical policy and practical interventions in major issues facing South Africa and the broader African continent. Janet's Mentor, Professor Claudia Mitchell of McGill's Centre for developing area studies, shares her deep interests in Southern Africa and contributes her knowledge of youth culture, visual and arts-based research methodologies to Janet’s projects.
Janet, who speaks English and Afrikaans, plans to return to South Africa to work in civil society after her year as a Sauvé Scholar.
Publication
Corporate-State Relations and the Paralysis of Accountability: A Case-Study of the Khulumani et al. v. Barclays et al. Lawsuit, the St. Antony’s International Review Vol. 5, No. 1, April 2009
